Thursday, April 22, 2010

You can find hundreds of forums where people discuss the actual economical situation and propose solutions. This is actually good, the population is becoming more and more interested in such general and important topics. Society is waking up, things are starting to move, people are getting interested and a little agitated, they want to get involved in something to improve things. But when you listen to their proposals it sounds like if they were waking up from a deep sleep since the 60's. The new technology and its social implications are almost totally absent from their language.

First, when it comes to the economical crisis the problem is NOT the production capacity or the human power and creativity. The problems we are facing now are SYSTEMIC. They DON'T reside in us, the people. The economical and financial systems have been in great part monopolized. A monopoly restricts free associations and hinders exchanges in society, which means that it chokes the economy. A monopoly restricts freedom for motives other than the well being of all and, in doing so, the market shots down. Read "The Revolution: A Manifesto" by Ron Paul, I don't agree with everything he is saying, but he exposes this particular reality quite well. To this add the corruption, which is another consequence of monopolies, given enough time they tend to become increasingly dissolute. No matter how much productive potential you have, if the system doesn't allow you to express it you cannot contribute to the economy, create jobs, and make a good living in doing so.

My friends, let's start thinking outside of the box... Let's abandon the capitalism/socialism dichotomy and think of new solutions for a new reality in new terms. We don't live in the 60's or 70's anymore. Even the 90's seam to belong to a different era. That's before the digital camera, the cell phone and the Internet. We are talking about a new reality, new possibilities, new and powerful tools for communication, collaboration and coordination, robotics, fast transportation, new sources of energy... new ways of doing things, new alternatives that compete with the old centralized and corrupt institutions.

The proper attitude is to follow the MULTITUDE SOCIAL MOVEMENT, which is to think of how you can use the tools you have at your disposal to escape from monopolies. Think of new ways to exchange with your peers by bypassing the system, which is there ONLY to suck from the flow that is channeled through it. Using the new tools offered by the new technology build networks and connect producers and consumers directly. Let the benefit stay with the people. This will shift the center of gravity in our society from the elite to the multitude, to us.

Restructuring tax is part of the solution BUT the proper way to do it is to be found in the proper context. To change politicians is fine, but there are other corrupt ones waiting to take their place. We must change society from the ground up. We must reconstruct it! The multitude social movement, this CONSTRUCTIVE REVOLUTION is about creating new democratic and decentralized institutions alongside the old ones, while directly profiting from it. It will not take long before the old hierarchical monopolistic institutions will be starved and the new ones will form the new fabric of our new society. Think constructively! Think to increase your freedom. Think to divorce monopolistic systems whenever you can. It is not only in our collective interest, it is primarily in YOUR best interest.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

The multitude movement is a global fast-raising social movement based on the realization that the new technology offers us very powerful tools that we can use to improve our lives, to free ourselves from different forms of monopolies. This movement will rapidly shift the center of gravity in society from hierarchical institutions to decentralized networks, to the multitude, leading to a more democratic society. But how can you help yourself now?

The examples of Linux and Wikipedia demonstrate that governments and large corporations, large vertical or hierarchical organizations, have lost their monopoly on the creation of value. Decentralized organizations, ad hoc groups of passionate individuals, can get together and produce very complex and valuable products, which can compete with the most powerful corporations. Think about this... a few crazy people contributing a few minutes per day can create something equivalent to Microsoft's Windows... Have you ever paused to think about this, how significant this is? Did you ever ask yourself how this is even possible?

There is no magic here. The secret is that the new technology offers us very powerful tools for communication, collaboration, and coordination, which work at the global scale. How many crazy computer geeks do you know who instead of watching the hockey game they sit in front of their computer and write code? I personally know only one and I consider myself lucky. There are a few in every city. But their total number throughout the entire planet is something very large. What happens is that this Internet and all the wonderful communication, collaboration and coordination tools we've built on it makes it possible for them to get together and do stuff. Without the Internet they can rarely meet with one another, let alone to collaborate. The new technology makes possible systems that rely on very, very scarce human resources. This is one important lesson.

Similar structures for the production of material goods and services are just starting to emerge. Models like the Discovery Network promise great economical advantages, with the benefits getting right into the hands of the people. Communication and collaboration tools play a crucial role in the design process of new products, coordination and logistical tools as well as the modern transportation technology become important for manufacturing and distribution. You have a good product idea? Why waiting for some big corporation to buy it from you for a handful of peanuts? Get on the Internet, start making contacts with the people you need, build a network, put your efforts together and build the product! Open yourself to collaboration, don't be afraid that someone will still you idea, count on speed not on secrecy/defense. The most important thing today is to be first to the market with a good product. Read more about Discovery Network.

One good example of production-distribution networks, or flat organizations profiting directly to small producers as well as to the consumer, is the food basket idea.

Individuals can also take advantage of the possibilities offered by the new technology by creating alternatives in the financial sector, and by profiting from these alternatives. Peer-to-peer lending creates wealth for the people, and all of it stays with the people. Search for examples on the Internet.

In the transportation area, new public transportation, as well as transportation of material goods models are emerging, where individuals can benefit form an aging and clogged infrastructure maintained by vertical organizations. You badly need some money ? Why don't you do Taxi for a day, or help a local farmer to transport his vegetables to the city.

These are just a few examples to get you started. Let's start thinking outside of the box! Instead of always looking for a job ask yourself if you can create your own. Look around, try to understand what people need and try to find a different way to address that need. Think of using the tools offered by the new technology. Build symbiotic relations with others, open yourself to the world, communicate, collaborate, coordinate... you have the tools. The opportunities today are endless. People need stuff, there is a need for an economy, the economical depression problem is not in us. The system who defines our daily transactions with the world is rotten. It doesn't allow individuals to exchange freely. The finance and the economy have been centralized, monopolized. We are at the mercy of this system and of those who control it. But there is a way out! Use your creativity to build alternatives to monopolistic institutions. Increase peer-to-peer transactions. It is possible today. Why not take advantage of it?